


He Will Always Be Mine

by ThebanSacredBand



Series: What Is A Man Without His Shadow? [2]
Category: Alexander (2004), Alexander Trilogy - Mary Renault, Ancient History RPF, Classical Greece and Rome History & Literature RPF
Genre: Don't copy to another site, Hephaistion is a manipulative shit, I love him, M/M, Non-Explicit Sex, Swearing, dark!Hephaistion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-04-26
Packaged: 2020-01-20 16:42:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18529012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThebanSacredBand/pseuds/ThebanSacredBand
Summary: Hephaistion was trying to watch the dancing, but he couldn’t help but be distracted by the fact that, out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ptolemy glance at him every few seconds. It was a shame, especially given the dancers were so pretty tonight. None more so the Bagoas, who was floating around in silks so sheer than Hephaistion could almost make out the small thing that was counted as the eunuch’s dick.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Not His Anymore](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18515155) by [ThebanSacredBand](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThebanSacredBand/pseuds/ThebanSacredBand). 



> So yesterday I posted something I wrote 3 years ago and I kept thinking about how I would write it differently now, so, like, I did. The characterisation of Hephaistion is very different, and doesn't really correlate with either Renault's trilogy or the movie, but I don't think its completely outside the realm of possibility of how he might have been.

Hephaistion was trying to watch the dancing, but he couldn’t help but be distracted by the fact that, out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ptolemy glance at him every few seconds. It was a shame, especially given the dancers were so pretty tonight. None more so the Bagoas, who was floating around in silks so sheer than Hephaistion could almost make out the small thing that was counted as the eunuch’s dick.

It was a shame was the Persian boy so devoted to Alexander. He looked like he’d be fun to play with.

From the look of it, the king was just as devoted to Bagoas as Bagoas was to him. The pair only had eyes for each-other. They might as well be fucking where they stood.

Trust Alexander to fixate on Darius’ former favourite. There were hundreds of whores and such in the camp, but only Darius pet was good enough for the new king of all Asia.

He snorted to himself, before grabbing his bowl of wine and making his way over to where Ptolemy was sat. The other general’s eyes widened a little. The pair had known each-other since Hephaistion was only a boy, it made sense that Ptolemy was at least a little wary of him. Everyone knew what Hephaistion was capable of.

(Just ask Philotas. Oh, that’s right. He’s dead.)

Not that Hephaistion would do anything to Ptolemy, mind. He was one of the few members of Alexander’s inner circle that he could actually stand.

“Honestly, Ptolemy, you keep staring at me, it’s distracting, what’s your fucking problem?” He asked, trying to keep his tone light. While he didn’t really give a shit that he’d alienated most of the court, Alexander had ‘advised’ him to play nice with at least the others who were more accepting of Alexander’s adoption of some Eastern customs. And he had to at least pretend he was doing what he was told occasionally.

Fortunately Ptolemy seemed to take his ribbing in the positive light it was intended to sound like.

“Well I’m sorry Hephaistion, but if Alexander had looked at someone else like that a few years back… well, I’m just surprised you haven’t started throwing things.”

“Aww, it’s almost as though you care about me.” Hephaistion gave him a shit-eating smile.

“I care more about the evening not being ruined by you getting into a jealous fit.” Ptolemy raised an eyebrow at him. Hephaistion snorted. He turned back to the arena, watching as Bagoas was crowned the winner of the dancing competition.

“What do I have to be jealous of? That he wants Darius’ whore? He wants all of Darius things, Ptolemy, one small eunuch isn’t much in the balance of things.” He took a swig of wine. The crowd was chanting for Alexander and Bagoas to kiss.

Hephaistion watched as Alexander surreptitiously glanced his way.  He gave a quick, small nod. Alexander lunged forward, crashing his lips to those of the near-naked eunuch. Half the blood in Hephaistion’s body rushed to his dick. He turned back to Ptolemy.

“Besides, Achilles enjoyed Briseis. But what was Briseis to Patroclus.” Once again, he smiled at the other general. This time, though, he wasn’t sure he had managed to keep back the hunger, the power behind that smile.

Ptolemy took a step back. Good. He was right to be scared.

 

“General?” The voice that called out was far too loud to be anywhere other than right outside Hephaistion’s door. He rolled his eyes. Of course, people only wanted him when he was _busy_.

“I’m a little, uh, _preoccupied_.” He called back, rolling his hips a little. The young soldier beneath him gave out a little squeak from behind the hand Hephaistion had clasped over his mouth. Adorable. “How important is it?”

“You have been summoned by King Al'skandar.” Now. There was definitely an accent there. And the pronunciation of Alexander’s name was definitely not from anyone who spoke Greek. As far as Hephaistion knew, Alexander hadn’t allowed any Persians close enough to him to act as messengers. Anyone, except perhaps… well. This was going to be fun.

Hephaistion stood up, whispering promises to the whining boy beneath him that he would be right back, he just needed to deal with whoever was at the door.

He began to walk towards the door, not bothering to get dressed. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t quite catch what you –” He swung the door open, feigning surprise on seeing who it was “Oh, _Bagoas_. What a pleasant surprise.” He grinned, all teeth. The Persian boy shuddered, taking half a step back. “I’m surprised you can walk right now, little whore.”

Bagoas was frozen. This was clearly not the welcome he had expected. He glanced down, then immediately flushed, pulling his eyes away to anywhere else in the room. They widened even further, somehow, when he noticed the second set of clothes heaped on the floor, the figure watching with half-lidded eyes in Hephaistion’s bed.

Hephaistion didn’t know what he had been expecting. That he would be a drunken mess, perhaps? That he cared enough about Bagoas to be upset that Alexander was sleeping with him? Pathetic.

“What was it you wanted, little whore?” He asked, giving a simpering smile that only seemed to make Bagoas even more alarmed. The Persian boy then shook his head, murmuring to himself in what Hephaistion imagined must be Persian.

“I, oh, the king requested your presence, immediately, general.”

“Oh, what a pity. You’ll have to tell Alexander that I’m right in the middle of something, but I’ll come by later as soon as we’re finished.” He punctuated his last word with a small hip thrust. Bagoas’ cheeks darkened. Funny. Hephaistion hadn’t thought whores were capable of being embarrassed.

“But I, I, I don’t… He is the king, general. You need to come now.” Hephaistion let out a laugh.

“I certainly do. Alexander can wait.”

“I don’t understand…” Oh, the poor little eunuch was confused. How sweet.

Hephaistion trailed a hand down the side of Bagoas’ face. “Oh, little whore, you have a lot to learn about this court if you want to stay alive.” He suddenly tightened his grip, pulling Bagoas’ face closer to his.

“You may be Alexander’s, bitch, but Alexander is mine,” he hissed. “He will only have you as long as I allow it. You are nothing to me, and if you don’t do as I say you could easily be nothing at all. Do you understand me?” Bagoas let out a little whimper. “I said, _do you understand me?_ ”

“Y… Yes general. I understand.”

Hephaistion let go of Bagoas, who immediately ran out of arms reach, raising a hand to rub at his jaw. Hephaistion smiled at him again, as if nothing had happened.

“Good. Now run along and tell my boy that I’ll be there as soon as I am able.”

He shut the door without even checking that Bagoas had left. There was no way he wouldn’t have. In fact, he was probably already crying to Alexander about it right now.

But what would Alexander do? Punish Hephaistion? As if. Alexander _needed_ him, Hephaistion had spent their whole childhood ensuring that. Without Alexander, Hephaistion would have been nothing but a general’s son. He wasn’t ashamed to admit that he was not good enough at leading troops himself to have been of any significance at all. But instead, with Alexander under him, near enough controlled by him, he was well on the way to ensuring that history would never forget the name Hephaistion.

He turned back to the bed, his face stretched in a grin. The boy, still laying there, shivered. Hephaistion could not remember his name. It didn’t matter.

“Now,” he purred, “where were we?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alexander's interactions with Bagoas and Hephaistion after the confrontation between the pair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it wasn't originally the plan to write this, but people seemed to be interested and then it got away from me... again.

“Hephaistion, beloved, are you…” Alexander turned to face the door, and trailed off as he realised it was not, in fact, Hephaistion who had entered his chamber, but rather Bagoas. “Oh, Bagoas. Where’s Hephaistion?”

He tried to keep the disappointment out of his voice, but it must have been evident, judging by the increased slump to the eunuch’s shoulders. The Persian boy was too polite, too well-trained to say anything about it, though.

“He was busy, my king. He had a, ah, a guest.”

“Ah.” Of course. It was stupid of Alexander not to suspect that he would have sought the company of someone else. After all, Alexander had made sure to let Hephaistion know his intentions before all but ravishing Bagoas at the dance. Why would Hephaistion not find someone with which to do the same?

Perhaps he should be angrier. After all, the king is permitted to marry as often as he likes, but everyone else could only marry one other. That is the way it had always been in Macedon. And the wives of the king had always been more protected.

But Alexander had no such wives, and he would permit Hephaistion anything. They loved each-other. They were soul mates. Achilles and Patroclus.

In front of him, Bagoas seemed to be shaking a little. Looking closer, Alexander could see tears brimming in the corner of his eyes. He felt his own brow crease.

“What’s wrong, Bagoas, sweetheart?” He approached the small eunuch, and reached a hand out to cup his face. Bagoas flinched away, almost violently. Now he was closer, Alexander could see red marks across his cheek.

He reached out a hand again, slower, this time, and brushed against the marks. Four of them. Fingers gripping his boy’s cheek.

“Who did this to you?” He asked, trying to keep the anger out of his tone. Bagoas was clearly frightened, and would not do for Alexander to make him more so. It took a few moments for Bagoas to be able to speak.

“It… it was Hephaistion, my king.” And just like that, Alexander felt the creeping tension seep out of his shoulders. For what was his was Hephaistion’s. This was not some stranger assaulting Bagoas in the hall, this was Hephaistion reacting to the fact that Alexander was now spending time with someone else.

It warmed his heart. Every reminder that, even if no-one else did, Hephaistion loved him, and would always love him.

The tears were starting to slip down Bagoas’ cheeks. Alexander brushed them away lightly.

“Oh, sweet thing, there’s no need to be scared of Hephaistion. He’s just jealous, that’s all. But he loves me, he wouldn’t do anything to actually hurt someone I cared about.”

There were still tears on Bagoas’ cheeks, but there were no longer any in his eyes. Instead, they narrowed slightly. “I am not convinced that that man loves anything but power.” Bagoas said, quickly. Had it not been for what he had said, Alexander may have applauded him for the improvement in his Greek.

As soon as he had spoken, Bagoas’ eyes widened, and he fell to the floor, grovelling. “I am sorry, my king, I, I do not, I did not, it is not my place and I…” He slipped into Persian, faster than Alexander could attempt to keep up with despite his steadily increasing knowledge of the language. He thought, however, that he heard a repeated “forgive me”.

“Stand up, Bagoas, and look at me.” His voice was cold even to his own ears. The eunuch did as he was ordered. His large eyes were once again filled with tears, but this time Alexander could not bid himself to brush them away. “I will forgive you, this once, for what you said. I appreciate honesty, and you would surely not believe such a thing if you knew anything about the Macedonian court.

“However.” He swallowed. “However, if you suggest any such thing again I assure you that you will not enjoy the consequences.” Bagoas gave a small nod, wrapping his shaking arms around his thin body.

Alexander sighed, and pulled the Persian boy towards him. Bagoas was tense at first, but eventually let go, sobbing into Alexander’s shoulder as the king ran a hand through his hair.

They stayed like that for a while.

Once Bagoas had stopped shaking, Alexander pulled away slightly. Bagoas would not meet his eyes.

“I, I am sorry, my king, Al’skandar.” Alexander pressed a kiss to his forehead.

“I know you are, sweet. Now go to bed, and hope that this is all forgotten in the morning.” Bagoas nodded, and gave a quick bow, before darting out of the room.

 

Alexander sat down on the side of the bed, running a hand through his hair. He did not understand why Bagoas thought such things about Hephaistion. The pair had barely interacted, as far as Alexander knew, apart from this evening when he had sent Bagoas to fetch him. What could possibly have happened between the two of them, that Bagoas came to the conclusions that Hephaistion somehow did not love him? Everything Hephaistion had ever said to Alexander seemed to contradict this. And where had he got the idea that Hephaistion loved power? He had never asked Alexander for anything.

Alexander was so lost in thought that he only noticed that someone had entered the room when he was suddenly pinned to the bed. He struggled, managing to roll the pair over until he was now on top, staring down at the brown eyes of Hephaistion.

Knowing that his assailant was someone he trusted, and not someone come to kill him (he could not be too careful), Alexander let down his guard a little, which allowed Hephaistion to attempt to flip him again.

This impromptu wrestling match continued until they were out of breath; then they flopped down side by side, Alexander tucked under Hephaistion’s arm. There was something freeing about it, wrestling again, as if they were still fourteen at Mieza, and nothing had yet happened, and everything was easy.

He sighed. Hephaistion’s arm around him tightened.

“What is wrong, my love?”

“I… What did you say to Bagoas earlier?”

“Is _that_ why you’re upset?”

“No, I don’t… just, tell me. Please.”

“I told him I was busy, and he started getting pissy and told me to come immediately. So I told him you would be fine to wait, and shut the door in his face.” Hephaistion frowned. “Why, what did the little whore tell you happened?”

“He didn’t say, he just said he didn’t think you loved me, that you just loved power…” Alexander trailed off as Hephaistion snarled.

“That fucking _bitch_. I’ll kill him.” He started to sit up, but Alexander grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back down. Instead he looked over at Alexander. “He’s trying to _manipulate_ you. He wants me out of the way so he can whisper in your ear. Well, is it _working_?”

“Hephaistion, beloved, _please_.” Alexander reached over, cupping Hephaistion’s face with his hands, smoothing out the angry creases in his brow. “Of course it’s not, love, I _know_ he’s wrong. I’m sure he didn’t mean it like that, he just doesn’t know how we Macedonians work. He doesn’t know you the way I do. Please, promise me you won’t go and hurt him.”

Hephaistion’s expression softened.

“I promise, Alexander, whatever you want. But if he insults me like that again, I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop myself again.” He reached up, placing his hands over Alexander’s, which were still cupping his cheeks. “Fuck him if you want, Alexander, even care about him if you have to. But I don’t know how I would go on if you replaced me with him.”

Alexander’s heart leapt. This was it, this was why he knew Bagoas was wrong, would always be wrong. No-one else loved him like Hephaistion did.

He reached up, and kissed Hephaistion, savouring every moment of it. Pulling back, he pressed their foreheads together, staring into Hephaistion’s eyes.

“I could never replace you, Hephaistion. I do not think I could live without you by my side.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man Alexander is kind of pathetically blind in this, but I think his blindness towards Hephaistion makes sense in this context, given I'm going for a more manipulative Hephaistion who would specifically try to not let Alexander know his true motives.
> 
> Let me know what you think! I love hearing people's different perspectives of this fic/ their relationship :)

**Author's Note:**

> I can't imagine anyone does, but if anyone wants to hear my strong opions about Hephaistion I could rant about him for hours, hit me up in the comments or on the tumblr I just made [lesmiserabiliad](https://lesmiserabiliad.tumblr.com/)


End file.
